3 Criteria I used for my Discipleship Experience last year
9 months ago • 3 min readGood morning, Reader, I am so excited about some things I am working on for you and the rest of our community. It is a bit of a passion project for me that has been brewing for a couple of years, but I felt very strongly it was time to focus in and make it available to you this year. God started stirring me in November, I think. One of the roles I fill in the church where I am on staff is overseeing discipleship and development. It is my true passion. I love teaching and coaching people into...
READ POSTThe Only Measurement of a Pastor's Success
7 months ago • 2 min readGood morning, Reader, I am excited to announce the podcast is coming back!!! Yesterday I sat down and recorded the first episode in months, and I can't wait to get it in your hands. It was nice to get behind the mic again, sit in front of the camera, and deliver a new episode. I have been doing some retooling of the podcast, reevaluating a lot of pieces for you and the rest of the community, and have made some hard decisions about the future. So, be looking for a new episode next week!!!...
READ POST14 Direct Reports!!! Oh My!!!
7 months ago • 2 min readGood morning, Reader, It is March, spring is around the corner, and I am getting my green ready for St. Patrick's Day!!! It also means Easter is right around the corner bringing one of the biggest attended services of the year for most churches. My prayer for you, and all the other churches represented in this community, is that people will come, have an experience with Jesus, and seek out a church home with you. I am also praying that you are given an extra level of energy, strength, inner...
READ POSTFinding myself on a frozen lake in the middle of the night changed my perspective forever!
9 months ago • 3 min readGood morning, Reader, I was a punk kid when I started going to church. Kind of...I actually grew up going to Catholic church with my grandma every other week, so I kind of grew up in church. But, when I was a Freshman in high school, I committed my life to Jesus for the first time. I came in a bit rough around the edges. No, I didn't drink or smoke or chew or go with girls that do...or did, but I had a pretty rough attitude on me. I could point to my parents being divorced when I was two and...
READ POST[Ministry Hackers Recap] The Church Life Cycle, Biblical Illiteracy, and Your Dreams
almost 2 years ago • 3 min readGood morning, Reader! I can't believe it was three years ago when I stood on stage at the Igniting Souls Conference promoting my book, Millennial Leadership. I was a top 10 finalist in the business and finance category and had the opportunity share my message at the conference, and it was a dream come true. When I was in elementary school I won a writing contest for a short story that I had written and it was then I knew I wanted to write a book. Since then I wrote a lot. In fact, in high...
READ POST[Dream Life Cohort] September's Tool: Building Your Budget Template
about 2 years ago • 1 min readGood morning, Reader, Well, it is September!!! You know what that means? It means it is the unofficial beginning of fall!!! Fall is my favorite season of the year. Yes, I love Christmas, but fall inches out winter for a number of reasons. It is the beginning of football, the leaves are changing, we go apple picking, pumpkin patch, back to school, sweatshirts and flannels, crisp nights by the firepit....I could go on and on! You know what else fall brings? Church planning season! I love it....
READ POSTIt is fall and time to get down to business!
about 2 years ago • 1 min readGood morning, Reader, Can you believe it is fall already? I can't...but I love it! Fall is a wonderful time of the year and there is something about it that just makes me happy. Football, falling leaves, pumpkin spice, kids in school, apple picking, and planning season. You read that right...it is church planning season, one of my favorite times of the year. It is the time where we carve out time in our schedules to look ahead to the coming year and all the amazing things God is going to do...
READ POSTYou Need an Online Discipleship Experience...and Here's Why
over 2 years ago • 3 min readGood afternoon, Reader, I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! The Pardekoopers had a pretty good weekend despite dealing with sickness. The highlight for us was driving up the coast a little bit to Williamsburg, VA and seeing the Williamsburg settlement. It was pretty incredible, and the surprising highlight for the boys was learning how to hit the wheel across the field with the stick. Score one for 1700's toys. Who knew! I took a couple of days off just because I felt I needed it...
READ POSTHave You Ever Tried A Passive Outreach Approach?
over 2 years ago • 3 min readWhat's Up, Reader, You will have to excuse me because I grew up in the 80's and 90's and that's just how I say 'hi'. Actually it is probably closer to 'wassup' but my structured Type A personality really struggles with not writing it correctly. I'm a mess, I know. :) Anyway, I today I want to show you a way you can engage your community, build an outreach ministry that serves, and make your church known passively. Now, I trust you have heard of building a passive income. It seems to be all...
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